FIGS. 2-5 show an embodiment of a seat 1 according to the invention, which is arranged behind another row of seats 2 and in front of a cargo area 3 in a vehicle. It has a seat portion 4 and a backrest 5, which are shown without upholstery, in other words with only their support structures. The seat portion frame 6 includes a base frame 7 and a seat cushion frame 8. The base frame 7 is tilted upward at its back end, where it is connected to the backrest frame 9 via a folding axis 36. At its upper end, the backrest frame 9 is customarily configured with a device 10 for adjusting the height of a headrest.
The seat cushion frame 8 is supported on both sides of its front end on the front end of the base frame 7 by links 11. The links 11 are each connected via pivot joints 12 and 13 to the seat cushion frame 8 or the base frame 7, respectively.
The seat cushion frame 8 is also tilted upward at its back end, where it is attached to the backrest frame 9 via a pivot joint 14 spaced a distance a in front of the folding axis 36.
The base frame 7 of the seat portion 4 is supported on both sides by front legs 15 and rear legs 16 on the floor of the vehicle 19. The front legs 15 are connected to the base frame 7 via a pivot joint 17, and the rear legs 16 are connected to the base frame 7 via a pivot joint 18. The lower ends of the front legs 15 are detachably supported on the vehicle floor 19, while the lower ends of the rear legs 16 are mounted via pivot joints 20 to the base 21 of a recess 22 provided behind the seat 1 in the cargo area 3.
The rear legs 16 are detachably fastened approximately at the center between their pivot joints 18 and 20 to a latching bracket 23, which projects into a depression 24 in the rear legs 16 and operates in conjunction with corresponding latching devices on the rear legs 16 that are not shown here.
On one side of the seat, below the upper pivot joint 18 of the corresponding rear leg 16, one end of a pneumatic spring 26 is linked via a joint 25 onto the leg 16, with its other end being pivotably supported on the upper pivot point 17 of the corresponding front leg 15.
The front legs 15 extend upward beyond the pivot joints 17, and have at their upper ends pivot joints 27, which connect a coupler 28 to each of the front legs 15. At their other end, the couplers 28 are connected via a further pivot joint 29 to the rear legs 16. The pivot joint 29 lies between the pivot joint 25 of the pneumatic spring 26 and the upper pivot joint 18 of the rear legs 16.
At the base 21 of the recess 22, specifically at the front area of the recess 22, a tightly tensioned cable 31 is fastened at a fastening point 30, at first extending upward from the fastening point 30 approximately vertically near the leg 16 that is latched to the latching bracket 23, and then turning forward at the latching bracket 23, with its upper end being fastened to the base frame 7 at a fastening point 32.
A strap 33 is firmly bound in the rear area of the seat cushion frame 8. It is actively connected, in a manner not shown here, with the latching mechanism of the rear leg 16, and with a latching mechanism for the folding joint 36, which is not shown here.
Below, the conversion of the seat 1 from its use position as shown in FIG. 2 to its non-use position as shown in FIG. 5 will be described.
To effect this conversion of the seat 1, pull must be applied to the strap 33. In this manner, first the latching of the folding axis 36 is released, allowing the backrest 5 to be folded forward around the folding axis 36. With continued pulling on the strap 33, the seat cushion frame 7 exerts an amount of torque on the backrest frame 9 in a counterclockwise direction via the lever arm a, so that the backrest 5 begins to pivot forward. Once it passes its vertical position it continues to fold forward under the force of gravity, and thus supports the displacement of the seat cushion frame 8. The backrest 5 is prevented from dropping suddenly onto the seat portion 4 either by the weight of the moving components and/or by a damping element that is not illustrated here. At the same time, the links 11 at the front end of the seat portion 4 are pivoted clockwise around their lower pivot joint 13, so that the seat cushion frame 8 as a whole is shifted downward and toward the rear, and the backrest 5 and the seat portion 4, when folded together, form a flat package.
FIG. 3 shows the status when the backrest 5 is completely folded down onto the seat portion 4. With continued pulling on the strap 33, the latching of the rear leg 16 to the latching bracket 23 which is fixed to the body of the vehicle is then released. Further pulling on the strap 33 then causes the rear legs 16 to pivot clockwise around their lower pivot joints 20.
FIG. 4 shows an intermediate stage of this pivoting motion. As this illustration shows, during this pivoting motion the backrest/seat portion package remains essentially in a horizontal position, which is accomplished by the interaction of the cable 31 and the pneumatic spring 26. The pneumatic spring 26 is stressed by the pivoting process, as the distance between the end of the pneumatic spring 26 attached at the pivot point 17 and the end attached at the joint 25 on the rear leg 16 is shortened. The pivot joint 29 of the coupling rod 28 is also shifted forward, causing an amount of torque to be induced in the upper end of the front legs 15 via the pivot joint 27 on the same, so that the front legs 15 pivot counterclockwise around the pivot joints 17.
At the end of the pivoting motion of the backrest/seat portion package, the front legs 15 and rear legs 16 lie in an essentially horizontal position within the base frame 7. The seat 1 is now completely collapsed into the recess 22, with the back side of the backrest 5 being essentially flush with the cargo area floor 34. In this situation the seat 1 is locked onto the base 21 of the recess 22 in a manner not shown here, and the pneumatic spring 26 is maximally stressed.
When the seat 1 is lowered into the recess 22, the pull strap 33 projects into a handle recess 35 provided in the edge of the cargo area, from which it is easily accessible.
In order to convert the seat 1 back to its use position, pull is exerted on the strap 33, whereby the seat 1 is first unlatched and pulled out of the recess 22. The continued pivoting motion is then assisted by the unstressing pneumatic spring 26.
While this invention has been described as having a preferred configuration, it is understood that it is capable of further modifications, and uses and/or adaptations of the invention and following in general the principle of the invention and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within the known or customary practice in the art to which the invention pertains, and as may be applied to the central features hereinbefore set forth, and fall within the scope of the invention or limits of the claims appended hereto.